Chapter 51: After Two First Places, the Regional Warden Seat Has to Be Fought For
Before noon the next day, Cassian was no longer watching the Resource Collection Ranking.
First place was already out of reach for everyone else.
What he wanted to know now was something else.
How exactly did someone become Regional Warden?
The Spring Node Blueprint was still in storage.
So was the Legendary branch at the bottom of its path.
[Fountain of Life]
[Evolution Cost: Aether Crystal ×10,000,000]
When Cassian saw that ten-million figure yesterday, his first thought had been Seraphine’s wager.
But he had not won that wager yet.
His current balance was still only:
[Aether Crystal: 10,466]
So the Blueprint stayed in storage.
Not because he did not want it.
It simply was not its turn yet.
Veyra came back from the Eclipse Muster Hall carrying the training record she had just revised.
"Looking at that ten million again?"
"Yeah."
"You don’t even have the money. What are you looking at it for?"
Cassian closed the panel.
"Deciding whether it’ll be the first thing I spend on after I win it."
The corner of Veyra’s mouth moved.
"You’ve already decided she’s going to lose?"
"I’ve decided I’m going to win."
"Not quite the same thing."
"It was never the same thing."
Before Veyra could answer, a private message lit up.
Sigrid.
[Sigrid: Patrol line southwest of the first Gold Vein found a new resource point.]
[Sigrid: Not a mine. The system identifies it as Battle Essence.]
Cassian’s hand stopped.
He opened the connection immediately.
"How far from the mine?"
"Less than two kilometers."
"Guards?"
"No high-grade targets. It’s in a gray-rock gully our patrol already passes through."
Sigrid sent over the system identification.
[Battle Essence Spring]
[Type: Stable Resource Point]
[Current Output: Approx. 12,000 Battle Essence / day]
[Feature: Stable production; no combat required to obtain output.]
The number was not large.
It could not compare to the hundreds of thousands that had come in at once from the Royal Hall battle.
Cassian still stared at it for several seconds before marking it separately on the map.
The biggest problem with Battle Essence had never been that he could not get a lot of it at once.
It was that he had to fight for it.
When there was no suitable target, he could only keep drawing down what he already had.
This Spring was the first thing that turned Battle Essence into a resource that would replenish itself a little every day.
"Don’t create a separate team for it," Cassian said.
"Fold it into the first Gold Vein patrol route. Have Bram’s existing workers collect from it once a day while they’re passing through."
Sigrid asked, "Move the white-stone line out with it?"
"Extend it past the Spring."
"Understood."
No new workers.
No separate mining operation.
A stable resource point less than two kilometers from an existing Gold Vein was simply absorbed into the patrol and transport route that already existed.
Cassian ended the call.
It would not pay for every upgrade he wanted to make today.
But from now on, Battle Essence would no longer come only after a fight.
Then a golden notification appeared overhead.
Noon had arrived.
[Resource Collection Ranking statistics closed.]
[Beginning final settlement.]
The Regional Channel went quiet.
No one asked who had taken first.
Yesterday’s 1.56-million-point gap had answered that question early.
A few seconds later, the result appeared directly.
[Resource Collection Ranking #1]
[Lord: Cassian Vale]
[Reward: Epic Chest ×1]
An Epic Chest appeared in storage.
Cassian glanced at it and did not open it.
That was not what he was waiting for.
The next system announcement followed almost immediately.
[Regional development has entered the next stage.]
[Issuing retroactive Rank III Advancement Record.]
[The first 100 Lords to complete Domain Rank III will receive formal qualification for the Regional Warden Contest.]
[Current total: 10 / 100]
Then the first record appeared.
[Rank III Advancement Record #1]
[Lord: Cassian Vale]
[Reward: Rare Chest ×1]
Veyra looked at him.
"Another first."
"Yeah."
"You didn’t even calculate this one in advance."
"It didn’t exist when I reached Rank III."
The following records filled in quickly.
Elara was second.
Seraphine was third.
Rowan was fourth.
Cassian stopped reading after that.
Both Chests were now in storage.
Both first-place results were settled.
But what actually made him stop was the third layer of golden text that descended immediately afterward.
This time, the Regional Warden Contest was no longer a vague preview three days away.
The rules opened in full.
[Regional Warden Contest]
[Mode: Regional Boundary Defense]
[Opening Condition: 100 Lords in the current Newcomer Region must complete Rank III.]
[Participants: The first 100 Lords to complete Rank III.]
[When the event begins, each participating Domain will be temporarily deployed as a whole to an independent defense zone along the Regional Boundary.]
[The Domain Core, constructed Buildings, and all legal units located inside the Domain when deployment begins will enter the defense zone with it.]
[External resource points, external garrisons, and units outside the Domain will not be deployed with the Domain.]
[Temporary Covenant boundaries will move with the Domain and will not count as leaving the Domain.]
Cassian’s eyes stopped on the final three lines.
Sigrid.
The two Gold Veins.
The Gloomhoof still assigned outside.
If they were not back when deployment began, they would not appear on the Warden battlefield.
The rules continued.
[During the defense, killing invading foreign-race enemies awards Warden Points.]
[Normal kill rewards are retained: Battle Essence / Aether Crystal / item drops settle as usual.]
[Regional total reaches 1,000,000 Warden Points: Regional Boundary Defense succeeds.]
[On successful defense: Every active participating Lord who has earned Warden Points receives Free Attribute +10.]
[On defense failure: The Regional Warden seat is canceled for this round; all participating Lords lose 1 current Domain Rank.]
[After successful defense, the Lord with the highest individual Warden Points becomes Regional Warden.]
[Individual #1 additional reward: Free Attribute +10.]
[Regional Warden gains regional management authority and may register formal Vassal Lord relationships.]
The final line settled into place.
The area outside the Oath Hall stayed quiet for two breaths.
Veyra smiled first.
Not because of the million-point target.
She looked up at Forgotten Shrine’s current boundary.
"The whole Domain goes with us?"
"That’s what the rules say."
"Buildings too."
"Yeah."
Veyra closed the training record in her hand.
The seven Eclipse Chains had not changed.
The Temporary Covenant had not loosened either.
But when she looked at Cassian again, something in her expression was completely different.
"Then this time, you’re not taking me out of the Domain."
Cassian knew exactly what she meant.
If Regional Boundary Defense moved the entire Forgotten Shrine to the border, Veyra would still never cross the Domain boundary.
The Domain itself would be changing location.
"Right."
"So I can fight too."
"Assuming the rules aren’t hiding a fourth restriction somewhere."
Veyra clicked her tongue softly.
"Could you say ’finally’ just once before you start checking for another hidden restriction?"
Cassian looked at her.
"You want to go that badly?"
"How many times have I watched all of you leave to fight?"
She lifted one hand and tapped the seven chains behind her.
"I don’t like doors."
"Especially doors that tell me I can’t walk through them."
Cassian was quiet for a moment.
Then he nodded.
"Then we go together this time."
Veyra’s smile did not grow any wider.
She simply reopened the training record she had just closed.
"Then Aegis Fold needs a different training pattern."
"How?"
"Before, I was training them to defend Forgotten Shrine."
"Now I need them ready to be dropped onto a border they’ve never seen and get the line established from the very first clash."
She turned toward the Muster Hall.
"The Hill King still takes the afternoon round."
"No reduction for the Praetorians."
"And the Rocketier loading positions need to be spread out. No stacking all of them near the Forge."
Cassian did not follow after her to add instructions.
Formation training was already hers.
Instead, he opened communications and called Sigrid first.
"The Regional Warden rules are out."
"You and the other five Stormlance prepare to return to Forgotten Shrine."
Sigrid asked only one question.
"The two Gold Veins?"
Cassian had no intention of emptying the mining areas.
"One Storm Guardian at each."
"The one at the first vein also folds the Battle Essence Spring into its patrol route."
"Gloomhoof and Blackfang stay on perimeter patrol. You come back."
"Understood."
Next was Bram.
Cassian did not tell him to push production harder. He only explained that external resource points would not travel with the Domain into the Warden battlefield.
"Prepare supply and security at both mines to operate independently for at least a day."
Bram was silent for several breaths.
"You’re pulling back everyone who can fight?"
"The people who need to return, return. The mines don’t go empty."
"Got it."
The call ended.
The Regional Channel was already boiling over.
[Anonymous Lord: Only the first 100 Rank III Lords get in??]
[Anonymous Lord: I’m still missing half my materials!]
[Anonymous Lord: If the defense succeeds, every active participant gets 10 Free Attribute, and normal kill rewards still count?]
[Anonymous Lord: I wasn’t even planning to compete for Warden, but I still have to get into this.]
[Anonymous Lord: So as long as we get in and earn at least some points, we’re good, right? Cassian and Seraphine can carry the million total.]
Elara replied immediately.
[Elara Vayne: Getting in doesn’t mean you’ll still be standing when settlement comes.]
Seraphine followed right after her.
[Seraphine Valcrest: A hundred slots does not mean a hundred spectator seats.]
The channel went quiet for half a beat.
Then the material-buying posts multiplied.
Cassian did not join in.
Seraphine’s private call arrived instead.
"Boundary Defense."
Her voice sounded noticeably more relaxed than it had yesterday.
"No fighting over resource nodes. No hidden routes. No last-minute trade tricks. At least from what the rules show, this is mostly about who can hold their own defense zone."
Cassian asked, "Happy with that?"
"Very."
Seraphine paused for two breaths.
"I want to pay you that ten million even less now."
The corner of Cassian’s mouth lifted.
"And I want to become your Vassal even less."
"Then fight for it."
"That was always the plan."
The call ended.
There were ten Rank III Lords now.
The remaining ninety slots would drive the entire Region into a frantic race toward Rank III over the next two days.
The system had originally estimated the Regional Warden Contest would open roughly three days after the preview.
At the current pace, it might happen sooner.
Cassian reopened storage.
Epic Chest.
Rare Chest.
Spring Node Blueprint.
Legendary Hero Sigil.
And finally, his eyes stopped on the dark-red wax seal that had been sitting there for a long time.
[Wild Tide Lure ×1]
Yesterday, Veyra had asked what he was still waiting for now that he had five Epic Highbloods.
Cassian had said he was waiting for the next batch.
Now he knew what the Regional Warden Contest would actually test.
Not a resource panel.
Not Recruit numbers.
Whether a Domain dropped onto an unfamiliar border could take an unknown wave head-on and survive it.
He took out the Wild Tide Lure.
Veyra happened to glance back from the Muster Hall entrance.
Her brow rose when she saw the dark-red seal in his hand.
"Finally willing to spend it?"
"Still missing one batch."
"So?"
Cassian opened the Gloomhoof assignment list.
Twelve Rare Level 6 Gloomhoof were still outside.
He did not recall all of them.
He selected six.
The other six would remain at the mines, along the routes, and on perimeter assignments.
"Bring six back first."
Veyra understood immediately.
"The next batch."
"Yeah."
"And then you use the Lure?"
Cassian closed his hand around the wax seal again.
"Get everyone in place first."
He looked west.
The Beacon Watchtower’s dark-silver observation ring was slowly sweeping across the gray slopes.
Before the Regional Warden battle actually began, he still had one chance to make a mistake while the stakes were smaller.
This time, getting it wrong would only cost him one Lure.
Next time, getting it wrong meant the ten-million-Aether wager—and the seat he wanted for himself.